Notes from the Scene:
This web page has four sets of "notes from the scene" from different news events, as well as quotes from important sources. For each of these, first identify the most newsworthy aspect and the news attribute of that aspect. Next, write your copy for the news story using a hard news lead with as many of the who, what, why, where, when and how facts as possible. You can use either a complete quote, paraphrase (sometimes called an indirect quote) or an incomplete quote, as long as you attribute it.
Sample:
Here are your notes:
Investors returned to Wall Street Monday after Friday's gloomy finish.
(Friday--Nasdaq hit hardest as markets suffer biggest single-day drop in
history)
Nasdaq closed up 217 points — its biggest single-day point gain (ended
at 3539)
Dow finished up 277 points (ended at 10,583)
The Nasdaq Composite Index; Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow and the Comp got a boost from the strength of computer-related stocks.
Intel (INTC:Nasdaq) added 63 points, Hewlett-Packard (HWP:NYSE) added 53
points and IBM (IBM:NYSE) added 41 points to the Dow's positive side.
Nine of the 30 blue-chips added more than 10 points in positivity.
Quotes:
“If I didn’t have 150 tax returns to worry about in the last three weeks I might have jumped out the window." --Lewis Cohen, a planner with Kaufman Rosenberg & Cohen in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
“It’s too late to sell. I advise investors to hunker down and ride it out." --Phil Luccock, president of Englewood, Colo.-based Financially Speaking.
What is the most newsworthy aspect? The fact that the market rebounded after a historically-big loss. The news attributes are both progress (good stock market is good for the economy) and impact (this will affect millions of people in our economy and throughout the world.
Sample Story:
| The Stock Market rebounded today after a
record-breaking loss on Friday.
The Nasdaq Composite Index enjoyed its biggest single-day gain ever, after suffering its biggest single-day loss on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also surged ahead, closing at 10,583. This good news has allayed the fears of many economists and investors, who have worried in recent weeks about the stock market's volatility. |
| "If I didn't have 150 tax returns to worry about in the last three weeks, I might have jumped out the window," (complete, direct quote) said Lewis Cohen, a planner with Kaufman Rosenberg & Cohen in Sherman Oaks, Calif. |
| Nine of the top 30 blue-chip stocks did well today, each adding more than 10 points, and computer-related stocks also had a strong showing. Some experts, like Financially Speaking's Phil Luccock, said that with the market's ups and downs in recent days, some people might have already missed the chance to sell. (indirect quote or paraphrase) The best bet might be to just "hunker down and ride it out," (partial direct quote) Luccock said. |
Fact Set One:
Monday, May 31--Memorial Day Flight 428, Northwest Airlines
left Seattle, due in Chicago 235 passengers evacuated
municipal airport, LaCrosse, Wis. Emergency landing
Landing tower official saw smoke coming from right wing area
8:13 p.m 34 passengers treated on scene, minor injuries
Quotes:
"It is a miracle no one was killed or seriously injured."--Pilot Anne Verden
"When I saw the smoke coming out of the plane, I thought me and my brother were going to crash and die!" Shalainah Brown, 10-years-old, traveling alone for the first time with her six-year-old brother, Tequeno. They were on their way to visit their maternal grandparents.
What is the most newsworthy aspect?
Fact Set Two:
Seven years old, second grade
Child's current name is Johnnie Jones; real name is James Wilson
Boy's mother, Mary Wilson Jones, arrested today
Faces charges of kidnapping and interference with custody warrant
Police got Smith's phone call yesterday, after PSA for the Adam Walsh Center
for Missing and Exploited Children
Taken from father, Verden Wilson, when boy was three
Brown hair, blues eyes, birthmark on right cheek
Reportedly has no memory of Verden Wilson.
Quotes:
"I looked at the face on the television and it looked a lot like Johnnie. I just said, ‘What the Hell,' and I called the show."--next door neighbor Brandice Smith
"Mr. Wilson was overcome with emotion when reunited with his son, but, franklly, Johnnie did not seem to understand what was going on."--MacKenzie Porter, police officer
What is the most newsworthy aspect?
Fact Set Three:
Nuclear weapon with yield equivalent of 150,000 tons of TNT detonated
in Pacific 150 miles west of Bikini Atoll
France confirmed test to U.S. Ambassador
Greenpeace protest boats en route with 50 protesters
Protesters include 15 members of Physicians for Social Responsibility
France is one of only a few nations still testing nuclear weapons
Blast occurred on May 27. No comment available from President Bush
Quotes:
"All of us must make a stand in showing the world that nuclear weaponry testing must come to an end." --Marvin Daniels, president of Physicians for Social Responsibility
"The Republic of France has every right under the current United Nations' charter to engage in this nuclear testing. The protesters should go back to shore and worry about other issues."--French Ambassador Ettienne Duvee.
What is the most newsworthy aspect?
Fact Set Four:
Springfield City Council meeting, 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22
Voted 5-4 to make four downtown streets one-way
Parking fines were raised to $20
Voted 6-3 to buy three new snowplows
20 downtown merchants spoke against changes
Traffic changes mandated by 1998 study, "Municipal Traffic Patterns and
Efficiency." Study written by four councilors whose terms expired in December
75 citizens protested street changes and traffic ticket prices.
Quotes:
"Downtown is dying! We can't raise parking tickets any more. People already don't want to shop downtown." Wallace Speer, owner of Wallace Tobacco and News.
"These changes were made to make downtown more efficient and to help economic development issues that are at the heart of downtown revitalization"--City Council President Kate O'Connell
What is the most newsworthy aspect?